General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Bleach: Memories of Nobody (劇場版BLEACH MEMORIES OF NOBODY)

Bleach: Memories of Nobody (劇場版BLEACH MEMORIES OF NOBODY) is a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film, the first theatrical feature based on the television anime Bleach, itself adapted from Tite Kubo's manga serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump. It premiered in Japanese cinemas on December 16, 2006, distributed by Toho, and was directed by Noriyuki Abe, who also directed the television series.¹

Key fact	Detail
Japanese premiere	December 16, 2006, distributed by Toho¹
Director / screenplay	Noriyuki Abe (director and storyboard); screenplay by Masashi Sogo; original story Tite Kubo¹
Runtime	87 minutes as listed by allcinema and JustWatch; about 93 minutes on the 2022 Japanese Blu-ray; 90 minutes per VIZ¹^•²^•³
Main voice cast	Masakazu Morita (Ichigo Kurosaki), Fumiko Orikasa (Rukia Kuchiki), Chiwa Saitō (Senna)⁴
Theme song	"Sen no Yoru wo Koete" by Aqua Timez; film score by Shirō Sagisu¹
Audience ratings	IMDb 7.1/10 from about 6,600 votes; Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter 87% from 10,000+ ratings⁵^•⁶
Home video	Japanese single Blu-ray released December 14, 2022 (catalog ANSX-2181, ¥5,280); North American DVD and Blu-ray released March 31, 2009²^•⁷

Spoilers

Story

The film is set in Karakura Town, where unidentifiable spirits begin appearing in large numbers. While investigating, Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki meet Senna, a mysterious shinigami girl who wipes out most of the strange souls and refuses to answer questions about herself or them.⁴ VIZ Media's synopsis names these beings "Blanks" and describes the plot that follows: a clan banished from the Soul Society long ago tries to kidnap Senna, and its leader is sending the World of the Living and the Soul Society on a collision course, with Senna as the key to his plan for revenge.³ Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the premise as material and spiritual worlds threatening to collide while a being made entirely of memories appears.⁶

The Japanese novelization, published by Shueisha the same month as the premiere, gives Senna's Japanese name as Akina (茜雫) and describes unidentified spirit bodies called ketsukon (欠魂) appearing in Karakura Town before Senna sweeps them away with her zanpakutō.⁸

Production

The film was produced as the first theatrical work of the Bleach anime franchise, with the television series' director Noriyuki Abe directing and storyboarding, Masashi Sogo writing the screenplay, and Masashi Kudō as character designer and chief animation director.¹ The score was composed by Shirō Sagisu, and the band Aqua Timez performed the theme song "Sen no Yoru wo Koete" ("Crossing a Thousand Nights").¹ The comedy group Yasuda Dai Circus and gravure idol Chikiri Morishita (森下千里) appeared as guest voice actors.¹ Production companies credited in the film's copyright line include TV Tokyo, dentsu, and Pierrot, alongside Shueisha and Tite Kubo.⁹

Release and home video

In Japan, the film opened on December 16, 2006 on Toho screens.¹ Aniplex released a limited-edition three-disc DVD on September 5, 2007 at ¥8,400, with a regular edition at ¥3,990 and rental beginning the same day.¹⁰ In 2022, the four Bleach theatrical films were reissued as individually priced Blu-ray discs; the Memories of Nobody disc, with a feature running about 93 minutes, was released on December 14, 2022.² In North America, the DVD and Blu-ray were released on March 31, 2009.⁷

Streaming availability has shifted repeatedly. As of late 2026, United States viewers could stream it free with ads on Pluto TV, YouTube Free, and Amasian TV, or rent and buy it on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango at Home; in France it was unavailable for streaming, having last run on Canal+ from June to September 2021, after a brief Netflix window in early 2016.⁴^•¹¹ In October 2026, the French service Animation Digital Network added all four Bleach films with German dubbing or Japanese audio with subtitles.¹²

Place in the series

The film was released in Japanese cinemas after episode 107 of the television anime's fifth season had aired, and it is one of four Bleach theatrical films, followed by The DiamondDust Rebellion (2007), Fade to Black (2008), and Hell Verse (2010).¹³ According to a GamesRadar watch-order guide, it is the only one of the four that comes close to canon status: one chapter of the manga alludes to it, with one location and Ichigo's time there seemingly absorbed into the main story, while the other three films are non-canonical adventures.¹³

Reception

On IMDb the film holds a 7.1/10 rating weighted from about 6,600 user votes, with an unweighted mean of 7.6.⁵ Rotten Tomatoes lists no critic reviews on its Tomatometer but records an 87% Popcornmeter score from more than 10,000 audience ratings.⁶ Audience reviews on the site describe it as fast-paced and action-packed with an original storyline that works within the Bleach universe, and several reviewers call it the best of the series' films, with particular praise for Senna's story.⁶

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026